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Ganes – voices from the mountains

We at LaMunt encourage you to discover the mountains in your own unique way, no matter frequency, speed or skills…but this exploration isn’t limited to hiking, ski touring or other great physical activities to do there. It’s a 360° approach to experience them – also through sound or art.

That is the new female perspective of the mountains.

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Meet Ganes, a band that we’re huge fans of. They’ve chosen to tell in the ancient language of Ladin how the mountains influences, transforms and touches our lives. We were fascinated by their voices, their melodies that incorporate ancestral rhythms and fairy-tale harmonies to tell the story of nature. Their song ‘Assosta’ from their current album OR BRÜM is for us more than a song, it’s a mantra to keep going on the journey in the mountains and life. It speaks from our hearts.

With their songs, they skillfully switch back and forth between the instruments, packed with emotion and the joy of experimentation. It’s a mix of different influences that results in enchanting, profound pop music. It’s music that makes us dream and we get enchanted from. That’s what Ganes does.

Find food for the soul in this interview with one of the trio’s singers: Marlene Schuen. Get to know how Ganes turns the mountains into musical journeys and their group’s spirit.

What does the Ladin language mean to you and why did you choose it to express your feelings?
Ladin is our mother tongue and belongs to our roots. It is still the language in which we dream and feel. The sound of this old language, which has survived for so long in the Dolomites, shapes our melodies and songs and fits best. It's a decision we made with our hearts and it turned out to be a good one because we feel it. It is the only way we are authentic and unique.
The song was described to us by a Ladin-speaking hiking guide as follows: "assosta" means as much as protection or shelter. The song is about the energy to go on / continue (in life), the wind, safety (in the shelter or at home) and joy and courage. About the steepest path or the darkest night bringing the greatest satisfaction and about letting go and releasing our emotions.
Did our mountain guide interpret the song correctly? Yes, great, she interpreted the song very well!

What inspired you to write the song Assosta?
Many of us know the feeling of being at the mercy of our fast-paced everyday lives. We are exposed to a constant overload of stimuli and are becoming more and more distant from nature and from what actually gives us strength and sustains us.
When I was able to spend some time at home in La Val during the Corona period, when everything was shut down, I spent a lot of time in nature and realized how much I had missed it. Humans are actually also part of this cosmic network where everything makes sense. Only if we see ourselves more as part of this whole again and protect our planet can we continue to feel protected.
And of course, music also offers "assosta", meaning protection or refuge.

What does aim to create for the listeners of this song?
It should encourage, inspire to go out into nature and experience its embrace.

Is there a "perfect" time and place to listen to your new album?
Our music can be listened to consciously, with our translations, which can be found in the booklet, and a glass of wine in your hand, or on the road. But of course, the most beautiful thing is to come and see us at a live concert. We are currently on tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and can be heard on the 23rd of June at Runkelstein Castle in Bolzano.

Since your songs are in Ladin, are they also somehow a call to switch off from everything in this hectic world, to stop and simply dream?
Yes, when you don't understand a language, you experience it as sound. That leaves room for our imagination and fires the imagination as well.

What energy do the mountains have for you?
The mountains can sometimes be confining for me, that's why it was important for me to go out into the world. But I look for them again and again and more and more. These gentle giants that have already "experienced" everything give me peace and strength. They also show me that we humans are not as big as we sometimes think, and from above the world down there seems quite insignificant and small.

What is the strongest feeling that the mountains awaken in you?
The feeling of freedom and, up there, being a bit closer to heaven.

What does it mean for you to spend time in nature?
It means time for me to feel myself better again and to connect with the earth. It means finding strength and inspiration.

What is the most important lesson you have learned in the mountains?
Humility, as everything becomes relative when you look down at the top of the mountain.

In your work, what is the strength of being a group and not a solo singer?
An essential part of making music for me is the togetherness. A melody only becomes whole when it is embedded by harmonies and rhythm. The three-part singing distinguishes Ganes as a pop band.

What relationship do you have to the area in the Dolomites where you were born and grew up? And may I ask, are you living there now, too?
From a very young age, we played music together as a family and were always out and about in the mountains. I have a deep connection to this environment and to my parents, who still live in La Val. After living in Berlin for a long time, I am very happy to be able to live between Munich and South Tyrol again.

What is your best memory of the Dolomites?
The feeling after a long hike, walking down the hills in the sunset and thinking together about what to cook is priceless.

Have you noticed a change in the relationship between people and the mountains in recent years?
Yes, I am concerned about the delicate balance between people and nature. I can only enjoy the mountains when nature there is intact and respected, in silence, away from the crowds. I think we really must be very careful that tourism, but also agriculture, don't take up too much space and that we all find a way to live more sustainably.

What time of year do you prefer to live in the mountains and why?
I prefer the time off season when it is calm and quiet. Autumn is wonderful and I also like late spring when the alpine meadows are in bloom...

Everything becomes relative when you look down at the top of the mountain.

Marlene’s words tell her connection with the mountains and what #MountainMeTime means for her. Finding out how each of us can feel more ourselves and experience these magical places in the way that suits us best, make us realize how strong the bond with nature is and how important it is to balance our soul.

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